Satellite bus terminal at Madhavaram to be inaugurated next year

Initiating the debate on demand for grants for housing and urban development departments, Thiruvallur DMK MLA V G Rajendran demanded to know the status of the satellite busstand at Madhavaram.TNN | July 04, 2017, 17:30 IST

Constructed by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), the bus stand will cater to buses plying to Andhra Pradesh.Chennai: A satellite bus terminal at Madhavaram will be inaugurated next year, state housing and urban development minister Udumalai K Radhakrishnan told the state assembly on Monday.

Constructed by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), the bus stand will cater to buses plying to Andhra Pradesh.

Initiating the debate on demand for grants for housing and urban development departments, Thiruvallur DMK MLA V G Rajendran demanded to know the status of the satellite bus stand at Madhavaram.

“It has been quite a while since the project was announced to de-congest Koyambedu bus terminal,” pointed out Rajendran.

Radhakrishnan replied that the total cost of the project was Rs 95 crore and the government had spent Rs 37 cr until May 2017. The bus terminus is being set up on eight acres and chief minister K Palaniswami will inaugurate it in the year 2018, he said.

Rajendran then raised the issue of CMDA approval for construction of new houses.

“It takes several days to get approval for construction of a building even if there are proper papers. The application for approval goes through several stages and returns if there is a query at the top level. Again it has to go through the entire process. The government must take steps to ease the approval process,” said Rajendran.

“The issues raised by the MLA was discussed at a review meeting with the chief minister. We have decided to ease the process of getting approvals and this change will be visible,” said the minister.

The DMK MLA accused the government of not honouring its promises made in the Vision 2023 document released in 2012.

“The document states that the state government will construct several lakh houses before 2023 in Tamil Nadu. But it is five years since the document was released and by this time, the government should have constructed at least 11 lakh houses. Have they been constructed yet,” asked Rajendran.

The minister, however, said by December-end, five lakh houses would be constructed.

On urban development, the MLA said the government should complete linking of Velachery-St Thomas Mount MRTS at the earliest as the linking should have been completed by 2012 itself.

Rajendran raised the delay in completion of Porur overbirdge, which led to a debate between the MLA and Palaniswami on who should take credit for the project.